Courts in locked-down Odisha districts to function for 1 hour

Bhubaneswar, Mar 23 (PTI) The subordinate courts in the districts and towns that have been put under lockdown in Odisha will be functioning for an hour on all working days till March 31, as per a circular issued on Monday.

The courts will be hearing extremely urgent matters such as bail, production and remand, from 12 noon to 1 pm, said the circular issued by the Orissa High Court registrar general.

Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam, Kendrapara and Angul districts were placed under lockdown, besides the towns of Puri, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Jajpur, Jajpur Road and Bhadrak.

The lockdown was imposed at 7 am on March 22 and will be in place till 9 pm on March 29. For avoiding gathering in the courts during the hearings, only one advocate and a prosecutor will be allowed to remain present to represent the parties concerned, the circular said, adding that urgent office work can be done at home.

The presiding officers of the courts will decide the deployment of staff required under intimation of the district judge, it said.

Courts in the districts that are not under lockdown will function from 11 am to 1 pm, only for the hearing of urgent matters, it added.